Headlines...News from David Sullivan

The end of the school year brings with it many traditions and celebrations. It was great to see so many people here for the Music Genre Festival – what a grand performance!

I encourage you all to attend the Annual Ice Cream Social this Friday. This is really our last opportunity to come together as a full community before we go our separate ways to enjoy summer adventures.

As you reflect on this past year, please take the time to complete the survey below and let us know about your experiences at Breakwater. I will receive all feedback anonymously. As always, if you have specific questions or comments, I encourage you to contact us!

Please click here to take our survey!

Music Genre Festival

On Thursday, May 21, the Daniel N. Crewe Gymnasium was filled with eager Breakwater families - anticipating another amazing Breakwater performance! Once again this year, we were not disappointed.

Kindergarten students enchanted the crowds with their original opera's - one based on the story of Peter Pan and one on Alice in Wonderland. Then, Grades 1 through 8 took us on an educational experience through American History. With American figures such as Marion Anderson, Barack Obama, and Eleanor Roosevelt portrayed on stage, parents and families were able to enjoy beautiful music while also learning about our history!

Thank you to everyone who came to watch this performance!

To view photos of this event on our website, click here! To view these photos larger on our Facebook page, click here! 

Save the Date: Annual Ice Cream Social

A Year-end Community Celebration!
Friday, June 5 at 5:30 pm

Join us on the Blacktop for a Picnic dinner (Be sure to bring your family's picnic!) at 5:30 pm. In case of rain, we invite you to enjoy your dinner at home and then come for the program and Ice Cream in the Dan. We will send an email out on Friday if this is the case!

Special Toppings Include... 

• Farewell & Recognition: Cathleen Allen, Shana Haines & Kelley Pratt
• Thank You to our Amazing Volunteers
• Music, Magic, Community Picnic (BYOP) & Ice Cream provided by the BPA
• Our Program begins in the Dan at 5:30 pm, followed by a picnic, performance, and ice cream in the School Yard

Please note that parking will be especially limited with athletic games going on in Nason's Corner Park!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
On June 5 the BPA needs volunteers to help set up and serve ice cream. Please sign up on the VAN if you are available to help!

5th Grade CARES Presentations

This year the Fifth Grade's culminating project was called "CARES." Each student selected, researched, and wrote a report on an issue that is important to him/her. Topics ranged from the problem of beach trash, to the plight of sea turtles, to world hunger. After learning about their topic, each student developed plans involving volunteer service and fundraising to benefit and build awareness for the issues they researched.

On May 20, students presented their CARES projects to an audience of parents, faculty, and peers. Each student discussed why they decided to work with the organization they did and spoke of their fundraising and volunteering work.

From organizing bake sales to volunteering at soup kitchens to building bird houses, each 5th grade student spent time working with an organization close to their heart. Most students also expressed interest in continuing work with these organizations - some even fueled their desire to pursue these interests in careers.

Congratulations to all our 5th graders - we are very proud of you!

Early Childhood Celebrates Earth Week

Tuesday June 2 - Thursday June 4

Here are some exciting field trips our Preschool and Kindergarten students will be going on this week:

Field Trip to Bay View Beach
Tuesday June 2
8:45 am - 12 pm
The entire early childhood program will take a field trip to Bay View Beach where we will dig in the sand, wade in the water, and float handmade boats in the river! NO SWIMMING. NO BATHING SUITS.

Walking trips to Jewell Falls and Capisic Pond
Wednesday June 3
8:45 am - 12 pm
The children will be split into two mixed-age groups. One group will travel by foot to Jewell Falls in the Fore River Sanctuary to wade and play in the water and make boats. The other group will travel by foot to Capisic Pond with nets in hand to look for frogs, tadpoles, and bugs.

Walking trips to Jewell Falls and Capisic Pond
Thursday June 4
8:45 am - 12 pm
The two mixed-age groups from Wednesday will switch destinations.

If you are an Early Childhood parent, please keep in mind:

• Please put sunscreen on your child every morning before school during Earth Week.
• Make sure your child has water shoes or rain boots, as we are going to be exploring in the water and mud every day.
• A communal snack will be provided for all children each day of Earth Week.
• Please check your child’s extra clothes stash to be sure he/she has a dry change of clothes every day of Earth Week.

The Greening Project Update

The redesign of this extensively used property has been a public / private collaboration. Throughout the design process special consideration has been given to creating a natural space with trees, gardens, play structures, and fields which can be consistently well-maintained for use by neighbors, athletic teams, and school children. A blending of surfaces (sand, stone, grass) and plantings (deciduous, evergreen, flowering) will make the space beautiful to look at as well as play in!

The Greening Project was jump-started with an $85,000 foundation grant awarded back in March. Since then, we have had several meetings with neighbors, City officials and athletic team representatives to gather feedback of our preliminary plan. Click here to view the current concept sketch for the new playground and park. As we prepare to move forward in the City's planning board approval process, our greening committee would appreciate any further comments you might offer us.

Please contact Molly Thompson with feedback, questions, or comments by email or by calling 772.4295 x230.

New Possibilities for Toddlers at Breakwater!

Begun in 2006, Breakwater’s Parent & Toddler Play Group was designed to introduce toddlers to children similar in age, school and the world beyond family. Simultaneously, the program supports parents in building community with others based on their common connections in raising very young children.

Facilitated by Molly Thompson, Breakwater’s Director of Early Childhood Programs and a preschool teacher, our current once-a-week Toddler Program has been bringing a small group of toddlers and their parents, grandparents or caregivers together for exploratory activities designed to engage the developmental interests of toddlers. After a fun and busy play time, the children gather for a healthy snack, followed by an age-appropriate singing, movement and story time, then outdoor play.

Expanding on the success of this once a week program, we are soliciting information to aid us in exploring the possibility of creating a more extensive Toddler Program. If you are a member of the Breakwater community with a toddler in your family, we ask that you take a moment (in between changing a diaper and picking up the contents of the box of cereal your little one may have just dumped on the kitchen floor) to fill out our informational survey.

Artist Portfolios: Available Soon!

You have probably been aware that your child has been making plenty of art during the year, either through conversations at the dinner table or through school-wide exhibits, but not much of it has come home. That is because artists at Breakwater create a cumulative portfolio of their two dimensional work. Three-dimensional work (which is hard to store) is usually represented in the portfolio with a plan or written assessment (yes, there are tests in art!).

Artists use portfolios to store work, to organize it, and to keep it safe. Students always know where their work is stored and they frequently take out their portfolios throughout the year to add elements or drawings to its cover. More importantly, the portfolio is a tool for understanding and revealing a process that tells the story of a child’s efforts, progress, and achievement in art. It is a tool for self-reflection and a visual representation of a child’s growth over the school year. There are many smiles, “I drew like that?” questions, and stories that unfold in the review of portfolios at the close of the school year.

Increasingly, students are coming to the studio to gather materials from their art portfolios to be presented at their end of the year student-led conferences in their regular classrooms. Any work presented in conferences will become part of their “pass-along” portfolio, traveling from homeroom teacher to homeroom teacher, and will be returned to them upon graduation from Breakwater. Similarly, art work is presently being selected from portfolios to be photographed and integrated into the designs for new banners to hang outside the Dan, as well as cards and other communciations. If images of your child’s work have been selected, we will call to ask permission before we use it. After all, it is their work!

Look for your child’s Portfolio to come home over the final weeks of school. It is amazing to go through the portfolio and have children pull out pieces and instantly remember not only the big ideas behind a project, but the music that was playing while it was made, the conversations that took place, or how they felt while making it. Talk with your child about their art by asking questions, and enjoy this packet of progress together.

~ Kelly McConnell, Art Essentialist

Breakwater Creative Arts Camp

It's not too late!

Select openings still available! Be sure to reserve your child's spot at BCA today!

From filmmaking to printmaking, theater to break dancing, sports to newspaper writing, your child is sure to learn a lot at BCA and have fun while doing it!

Give your child the gift of a perfect summer! Contact Tiki Fuhro for more information about our program or visit our website.

Tadpoles & Leapfrogs

Summer Explorations Program for Children Ages 4 to 6
It's Not Too Late to Reserve Your Child's Spot!

Like Breakwater's school-year Early Childhood Program, this summer program honors children's questions and interests, giving each child the freedom to choose projects and activities they feel drawn to or wonder about. Our staff of educators supply children with open-ended materials and encourage their natural imagination, creativity, and curiosity. We also provide teacher-directed projects drawn from our observations of children's play, interests, and conversations.

Our Tadpole & Leapfrogs: Explorations Program uses three rooms, each designated as a "theme environment". In the Arts Studio, children are given raw materials like clay, paint, and many other natural and found objects. The Imaginarium is a space for dramatic play, music, and movement. The Story Room is a space created for quiet play and fine motor investigations.

We will spend active time each day enjoying and exploring the outdoors. At least once a week a "Walkabout" is taken off-campus to the nearby Fore River Sanctuary or at Capisic Pond and we also have many opportunities to watch our older friends in the Breakwater Creative Arts Camp as they practice and perform their creative works. Naptime is available for those who need a period of rest in the afternoon.

Mari Dieumegard, talented artist and long-time Breakwater teacher, is the Creative Director of this program.

Outdoor Parent Work Day: Let's Make Our Campus Sing!

Wouldn't it be great to have the school grounds singing before commencement? Join us on Saturday, June 6 from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm to help spruce up the campus!

Here are the areas that need song and dance numbers:

• Front triangle
• Jessie lawn
• Walkway between Dan and brick building
• Preschool garden
• Wild life garden

Instruments and noise makers to bring:

• Rakes
• Clippers
• Plants (from your garden overflow)
• Gloves
• Bags for clippings

Want to help out, but can't make it that day? Supplying refreshments for the workers is a great way to contribute! Drop off any refreshments on Friday, June 5 or Saturday morning.

Call Camilla Whitehead if you have any questions at 767-0757.

5th Grade Yard and Bake Sale!

Join us Tuesday, June 2 through Friday, June 5 for the Annual 5th Grade Yard and Bake Sale.

Find a wide variety of toys, books, games, and baked goods. You will find these items located in the Main Entrance and outside on Friday (weather permitting). This is a fundraiser that supports the 5th grade gift to Breakwater and the end-of-year class trip. All items are between $0.10 and $5.00.

You can also help by donating items to the sale or baking something!

Step-Up Day

On this Friday, June 5, students be visiting the classrooms for the next grade level at 10:30 am. This will give all students a small taste of the year ahead.

Please note: This date has changed to June 5 due to Earth Week celebrations in the Early Childhood classrooms.

Breakwater Photo Albums

Breakwater Night at the Sea Dogs
To view a photo gallery on our website from Breakwater Night at the Sea Dogs click here! To view the photos larger on Facebook, click here! And congratulations to Ike Wilson for throwing out the first pitch!!

Fun (but wet) Times at Laudholm Farm
The Science Challenge Field Trip to Laudholm Farms was pretty rainy - but all our students still had a lot of fun!

Breakwater Earth Week
More photos from Earth Week can be found here!!

Music Genre Festival
Click here to view photos from this terrific performance!

Want to see these photos sooner?
Become a fan of Breakwater on Facebook!

Community News

El Rayo is Open for Business!
The Dana Family's new restaurant is open and ready for your enjoyment! Housed in a former gas station located at 101 York Street, the restaurant is painted - inside and out - in vibrant colors. The atmosphere is casual and fun. Open 7 days a week, call 780-TACO for more information or visit their website. Many Breakwater faculty have stopped in for lunch and have been raving about the delicious food and festive atmosphere! Be sure to give this great new restaurant a try!

Salt Exchange Opening Soon!
The Bryon Family's new restaurant The Salt Exchange is opening soon! It is located at 245 Commercial Street in Portland and on Friday, June 5 they will open their doors to the public for Canapes and Cash bar! They will then open formally for lunch the following Monday! Be sure to stop in and give Portland's newest restaurant a try - you won't be disappointed!

News Briefs

The Great Book Search
Please search high and low for any Breakwater School Library books you may have. Please return these books to the Library by June 12.

Kudos

Thank you to Whit Ford for taking beautiful photographs of the Music Genre Fest. Thank you once again to Joy Kaplan for refreshing the planters outside the Jessie and Main Buildings - they look fabulous!

Stephanie Hayward would like to thank the following for everything they did to help out with the Music Genre Fest: Lisa Flanagan, Kathy Damon, Cathleen Allen, Alex Johnston, Kelly McConnell, Elliot Youth, all of her students who both helped set-up and sung their hearts out, and all the parents who helped setup and came to enjoy the event!

Finally, Breakwater would like to thank Stephanie Hayward for going above-and-beyond once again and creating a magical night at the Music Genre Fest!